NEW YORK - The Columbia wrestling team dropped its Ivy League opener to top-ranked Cornell, 40-3 in University Gymnasium on Saturday, February 5. Seven of Cornell's 10 wrestlers in their lineup were ranked in the top-11 in the country. Kevin Lester picked up the lone win for the Lions, as Columbia's record slipped to 6-5, 0-1 Ivy League, while the Big Red improved to 9-1, 1-0 Ivy League.
In the final matchnof the day, Lester squared off against Stryker Lane in the heavyweight bout. Lane led 2-1 after the first period, but Lester knotted the score at 2-2 with an escape to begin the second. He followed that up with a takedown to go ahead 4-2, but Lane cut his deficit to one with an escape to end the second period. Lane scored the only point in the third with an escape to open the period, but the 1:04 of riding time for Lester proved to be the difference, winning the bout 5-4.
Jake O'Hara put up a good fight against No. 11 DJ Meagher at 157 pounds. O'Hara trailed 4-2, but cut his deficit to one with an escape to begin the second period. Meagher grew his lead to four in the remainder of the second, and went on to take an 11-5 decision over O'Hara.
Eren Civan led 2-1 against Craig Eifert after the first period, and pushed his lead to 3-1 with an escape to begin the second. Eifert used two takedowns in the period to go ahead 5-4 entering the final period, and eventually pushed his lead to 8-4 with an escape and takedown in the third. With 1:06 of riding time, Eifert went on to earn a 9-4 decision at 165 pounds.
Prior to the match the team's two seniors, Mike Pushpak and Nick Standish, were honored.
Columbia (6-5, 0-1) returns to Ivy League action on Friday, February 11 when it faces Princeton at the New York Athletic Club at 6:30 p.m. The following day, the Lions will close out the home portion of their schedule when it hosts Penn at 3 p.m. in University Gymnasium.
# 1 Cornell 40, Columbia 3
125 - #10 Frank Perrelli (Cor) major dec. Penn Gottfried, 15-7
133 - #6 Mike Grey (Cor) major dec. Matt Bystol, 18-7
141- Corey Manson (Cor) major dec. Josh Houldsworth, 14-5
149 - #3 Kyle Dake (Cor) pinned Tom Di Vitantonio, 1:35
157 - #11 DJ Meagher (Cor) dec. Jake O'Hara, 11-5
165 - Craig Eifert (Cor) dec. Eren Civan, 9-4
174 - #3 Mack Lewnes (Cor) pinned Stephen West, 6:20
184 - #6 Steve Bosak (Cor) major dec. Nick Mills, 10-1
197 - #1 Cam Simaz (Cor) pinned Mike Pushpak, 1:14
Hwt. - Kevin Lester (Col) dec. Stryker Lane, 5-4
